The feeling at Lazio's home ground was far from happy on Saturday afternoon. Lazio were trailing against Torino, a team that had allowed 10 goals while managing only two goals in their last five league matches. Fans from the Curva Nord were finishing their latest protest in a continuous dispute with club owner Claudio Lotito.
A Season Unraveling?
Was the team's progress coming unstitched, or was there ever a thread keeping it intact to start with? Lazio reinstated Maurizio Sarri as head coach this summer, but then he to later acknowledge that the board had failed to disclose a registration embargo they were about to receive for fiscal problems. Speculation that his departure was imminent were unfounded, but he acknowledged that Lotito had "deceived" him.
The Biancocelesti appeared equally disorganized on the pitch as behind the scenes, overcoming Verona 4-0 and Genoa 3-0 but losing their other first five games, featuring the derby della Capitale. Throughout this period, it's been difficult to determine if progress is being made or self-destructing.
Matteo's Surprising Return
At least one man kept smiling throughout. Matteo Cancellieri had not been expected to feature for Lazio this season. He was on the last one at Parma as a loanee and, at the start of the off-season, his owning club were advocating for him to remain there temporarily. The transfer ban forced a rethink. Lazio could not afford to weaken their team lacking backup options.
He joined originally under Sarri's first spell, back then just 20 years old graduate of Verona's academy. He recorded 20 league appearances for Lazio in the 2022-23 season, all but one of those coming off the bench. Their former sporting director, Igli Tare, who departed at the end of that season, later stated Sarri of "telling everyone Cancellieri had superstar potential but then not selecting him."
Uncovering His True Position
Perhaps the manager was continuing to attempt to identify the nature of his skill set. Billed as a flank player when he joined, Cancellieri yet was deployed for most of that campaign as an unconvincing alternative to Ciro Immobile as center forward. In 63 appearances on loan at Empoli and Parma during recent campaigns, his tally was seven goals. Shoehorn
